Foreign Home
by Plagued Porcelain
Summary: PostCOS & AltFMA. Ed promised Alfons H. that he would take care of Alfons' wife and child. When Ed takes them to Ametris, the promise causes problems. Can Winry and Al deal with them? Or will it just be awkward? Alfons H./OC Russel/OC
1. Prologue

"The truth is...I'm running out of time. You say this world isn't yours but it is mine and I want to leave proof that I lived in it! It's a bit late for you to start caring now!" The blonde walked out of the house.

"Damn it, Alfons," I cursed as I collapsed against the steps, watching Edward the whole time, a dreadful look on his face. Feeling his shirt in my fingers, I tugged gently on it. "You know he has that lung disease from the rockets?"

"Yeah," Ed replied and gruffly walked away from me. I just sat there on the steps, crying with my head between my knees. My tears slipped quietly onto the floor. I just thought about him.

* * *

><p>They were almost fighting again. "We're not a part of your dream like you thought we were. I care, and I make mistakes. I may not be in this world for much longer, but she'll always be here! Just don't forget about her." He took a breath. "She'll be left all by herself, because I choose this! As my dream! I'm killing myself for this! And it's killing her too! Ed, why can't you see?"<p>

"If you hate doing that to her so much, then stop!"

"But this is my dream! Just like you trying to get back to your brother. And she understands it all…that's why she cries alone at night when I'm gone…that's why she never says anything about it… Help me. I'm tearing her apart, Ed," the blonde's hand came down upon the table as he spoke the last words.

"Alfons, she's…she's yours. She loves you so much. She's bearing your child. How can she not love you? She's been with you this whole time and she knows why you're doing this. Just trust her. Even if you tear her apart so much to where you don't even recognize her, she'll still be by your side." Taking Alfons' hand, he said, "Isn't that what this piece of gold on your finger is? A symbolic reminder of that?"

"I know, I know…"

"Carina, Carina, I'm so sorry I have to go…" Alfons kissed me softly, pulling me into a gentle and feeble embrace. He was falling apart. I couldn't stand it and my emotions got the best of me, tears falling upon my rounded belly. "Why do these diamonds fall from your beautiful eyes that should be shining in happiness, my wife?"

"Don't go…" I managed to squeak out.

"But…this is the last day before we can finally launch them, and my dream will come true," he looked over my shoulder to where Ed stood, his hard gaze piercing through me. "And then I'll come happily back to you, crying with joy, little bird."

"What if you don't come back? What if you die?" I rubbed at my cinnamon tinted eyes harshly before continuing, "This isn't just my own feelings, but it's the child's… It knows…"

"Carina, you're just paranoid. Tomorrow, I'll return to you and we'll have a celebration for my success." He kissed me again. "Wait for my success, Carina." With that he followed Ed and went out the door.

"Carina sure is stubborn and willful, Alfons," Ed commented as they drove to where Alfons would finish making the completions on the rocket.

"I know, it part of who she is and I love her for that…" he stared off quietly. He felt in his gut that his wife might be right: that he would never return home. She had never been wrong before when she had those strange feelings. Dismissing the ideas forcefully, he asked, "Ed, do you have a girl?"

The golden-eyed young man blushed fervently, almost loosing control of the car. "Umm," he gulped, "I do…sort…of…"

"What's she like?"

"Umm, well, she's a tomboy, playing with mechanics all day. She made my arm for me…umm, she's blonde…and she likes to try to kill me with a wrench…"

"You like that kind of woman? A dominatrix?" Alfons swerved to look at Ed. "You know, you might be in an abusive relationship…"

"No…no, no, she's kind and has a good heart. She's a little like Carina. Even if I sway from the path, get lost, and never return home, she's always waiting for me. I've done the same exact thing you're doing to Carina. I know how it feels…" He gripped the wheel harder, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. He thought back to Winry and Alphonse. He picked his little brother that day, and she understood why he made that decision. She knew that he had to do what he did.

That instantly reminded Alfons of Carina and what she had said. "Do you believe that fortune-teller stuff? That people can see into the future?"

"Nope. Science is everything. There's no such thing as that mystical mumbo-jumbo. But why do you ask?" Ed tried to look over at him, but he kept both eyes on the road.

"About what Carina said earlier, what if it's true?" He buried his face in his hands. "What if I die tonight? What if I leave her all alone? What would happen then?"

"You'll never know…you might end up killing yourself if you try to avoid the problem. You shouldn't mess with Fate…or God. There was this myth about a hero... he made wings out of wax so he could fly... but when he got too close to the sun... to God... the wax melted and he crashed to the ground... I, of all the people on this Earth, know that the best. Because," He lifted his right arm and touched the prosthetic skin. "Because we're not God… not even close to one, not as scientists, who I once thought were the closet things to God even though we never believed in Him… no, we're humans… tiny, insignificant humans…who can't do a single thing but live our lives and die…If we get too close to the sun, all we'll do is burn."

After a short silence, Alfons sat up straight, gazing off out the window. "Promise me one thing, Ed? If I do die tonight or any time, I want you to take care of Carina…and our child..." He scoffed. "I'm a selfish man, Edward Elric. The woman I married is barely seventeen and is already pregnant. I thought if I married her she'd be safe, but I guess I was wrong." He turned back to Ed. "Things in this country are about to change. Carina…she's part Jewish. And many Jews will be put to death by a new villain. Richard Wagner has influenced a very horrible man by the name of Adolf Hitler. If you do not get out of this country with Carina, she and the child will die. Do you understand that, Ed?"

"Of course, Alfons. I'll give her your love and wishes and I will keep her safe…" They lapsed into silence as they neared the building where Alfons was building the rockets.

* * *

><p>Sirens cried with a mournful song outside the apartment window. I rushed to the door to see what all the commotion was about, my nightgown flowing about me. Flinging open the door, I saw Officer Hughes standing there with his eyes to the ground. "Mrs. Heiderich? Mrs. Carina Heiderich?" I nodded. "May I come in?" I nodded once more and led him in. "I have news for you."<p>

"Hold on, Officer," I stated in my slight Irish accent. It was impolite to just let him sit there with nothing of my hospitality in his hands. I retrieved a cup of cold coffee from the cabinet. Bringing that and a jar of whiskey with me, I hurried back into the room and asked, "Do you like whiskey in your coffee? My father always used to make Irish coffee and put whiskey in it…" He shook his head and I handed him the cold coffee, apologizing, "Sorry it's cold…"

"It's okay, but I need to tell you something…" He sat up straighter and set the coffee down. I was still standing, needing the hem of my nightgown sleeves between my hands. "Alfons Heiderich is dead. Your husband is dead." I shook my head with a smile and cried one tear before I screamed in anguish. I just kept on screaming as the medics brought Ed in on a stretcher, bleeding in the leg. He pushed them away, knocking their hands away from him, and he hurriedly limped to my side so that he could put his good arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his hard chest.

"Someone! Someone, call a doctor! Bring her to a hospital! Patching me up is second compared to this! She's with child!" Ed yelled orders to people as I hyperventilated in his grasp, my vision failing as I fainted from shock.

I woke up in our bed, _my_ bed. I had the sheets about me and I was still cold as I realized I had broken out into a cold sweat. _It was all just a dream. He's not dead. He's sleeping here right…next to me…_ I looked over to see Edward snoring softly beside me. A bandage was around his leg; blood had soaked through it. It wasn't a dream. My husband was dead. Edward was here in my bed, sleeping with a wound. And I was still pregnant and still in shock. A cry escaped my mouth, waking Ed. Quickly sitting up, his arms went about me again and I cried into his shoulder.

"Shhh. Shhh, my little Carina," he said lovingly. I just cried harder as I thought of how much he sounded like Alfons. "Shhh, my little bird. Eistigi liom. Mo mhíle stór, tá grá agam duit."

Mistaking him for Alfons, I hugged back, whispering, "Abair é sin arís, le do thoil."

"Tá grá agam duit. I will love you always." Kissing me on the forehead, he just let me cry my fill.

* * *

><p>"Carina!" Edward poked his head around the corner, smiling widely. "Come here! Look what I've done! I'm awesome!" He ran to me and began to pull me towards where he just was. "You'll be so proud! I did it right!" His earnest smile and excitement struck me to the core. That was just like Alfons. I threatened to cry and stopped dead in my tracks. "What's wrong, little bird?" He wrapped an arm about me and pulled me close, whispering into my hair, "I promised you that if you thought about Alfons, then I'd wait until you're happy again. I promised him you'd be happy. So let's keep that promise, Carina." He kissed my hair sweetly and I cried as he held me.<p>

It had only been four months and Alfons' death was fresh and fervent in my mind. I longed for him everyday and when Edward lay in bed with me, I found my body snuggling close to him, thinking that he was my departed beloved. And then I would be able to smell him and I knew he wasn't Alfons. He didn't feel like Alfons. All the stress of this and the fact that I was due anytime now weighed heavily down on me.

Edward and I were finishing up the necessary things for the baby's arrival. That's what we were doing now. He was dressed in a billowy white shirt and black pants that he rolled up to the knee. His golden blonde hair was back in a ponytail like normal, but his bangs were growing too long and so they went back as well. I was dressed in a white sundress with a light, blue shawl wrapped around me, even though it was not that cold.

I wiped at my cinnamon colored eyes and smiled gently. "Okay, done…" I nudged him. Letting go of me, he ran laughing in front of me, holding his arms out to me.

"Come on! Carina! Come look!" I earned another laugh as I tried to go quicker towards him, waddling like a duck. "Any day now, or the baby will come too soon, silly!" I finally reached him and looked at his masterpiece. My hands flew up to cover my mouth in happiness. "If I do say so myself, this is the best crib I've ever built."

"It's the first crib you've ever built," I retorted playfully. "But, it's perfect! Alfons would be so happy to see it. So happy…" Edward took my hands and forced me to look into his golden ones.

"I'm sure Alfons is happy. He can see it. Through my eyes, through your eyes. This maybe a little too deep for me but, he lives in both of us, through our memories. So, what say you to help him stay alive and give his child all of our memories of him?"

"That sounds perfect, Edward." I clutched his shirt front and hugged him. "Thank you so much. For the crib. For everything. Thank you so, so much."

"Little bird, it's what I'm supposed to do."

I stepped back out of the hug. "No, it's not, and you know that, Edward. You were supposed to find a way to get back to your brother. You never talk about it anymore. You never work to achieve your goal! To live up to Alfons' wish, he would've wanted to pursue your dream just like he did his! He died happily! I know he did!" I was getting upset again.

"Yes," he replied quietly, agreeing. "Yes, that may all be true. That's what Alfons would have wanted. For me to chase after my dreams just like he did, but even though we were friends, really good friends, I have someone else's wish I have to follow. My brother's. I have to follow his legacy. He would've wanted me to help you, to love you like Alfons would've. He will understand."

"What if he will never find out? What if you never get back to Amestris?"

"I will," he took my hand and rubbed it, "I promise you I will. I'll start searching for a way back after the baby is born. And don't think you're not coming with me…"

"You made a promise to my husband that you would protect me. You can't protect me if I don't come with you."

* * *

><p>I named him Liam, for my father. And for the fact that it has elements in it that mean will and protection. Liam would protect his father's will, his father's desire. He will be taught all about his father and I hoped he would one day aspire to be just like him, chasing after his own dreams. But, of course, Edward will end up rubbing off on him. Liam will probably become stubborn, strong-willed, quick-tempered, sarcastic, cynical, foul-mouthed, and impatient. But, Edward also has other qualities that are good. Liam will pick up on his selflessness for those he cares about, great loyalty, compassion, and sympathy for those who have suffered. If Ed is going to be his mentor, his father figure, Liam will grow up to be a fine man. No doubt. Although Ed doesn't have Alfons' easy-going smile, extreme patience, or severe kindness, memories of my husband's life will bring that out in Liam. I just hoped they will.<p>

* * *

><p>It was now 1926. My son was now two years and seven months old. Edward had founded, a little after Liam had been born, a Chemist Library and Supplies shop, serving as both his working area and as his study area. He had been unsuccessful in his research to find a way back to his brother, but his shop brought in several famous faces amongst the large crowds the shop contained on a daily basis. One, in particular, was his father, Von Hohenheim, who offered to help out with the shop and around the house. I enjoyed Hohenheim's presence in our household as he did daily chores for both Edward and I. At points, though, Edward and his father were at each other's throats and Edward's yelling would end up getting Liam upset because he knew that Edward was upset. But other times, Hohenheim and Edward dove into books and research, coming up with complicated theories and equations in order to find a way back to Amestris. Those times it was peaceful, until Liam decided he would cry for no reason, just to be irritating.<p>

It wasn't just rough around the house. Munich was in an uproar. There were whispers of treason from the citizens who supported the plans at the Beer Hall Putsch. Even though Adolf Hitler was sentenced to be behind bars for five years in 1923, he had gotten out within eight months of his sentence, on December 20, 1924. People were still loyal to him and he was recruiting more. The Wiemar Republic was going to suffer its downfall. Germany was going to suffer its downfall for the sake of its Aryan race. Alfons had hated that. Racism wasn't in his soul. In fact, he had married me. My mother was Jew from Hungary while my father was a Catholic Irish man. He knew I would be hunted down by those who claimed Aryan Law. In some way, I was to be discriminated against. Edward told me not to worry, but I wasn't worried for myself, but the life of my son, Liam. If he lost his mother, he would have no family, only Edward, who was a close friend. He would never know all about his father. But Edward said he would protect me and that was what I choose to believe.

Liam muttered something unintelligible, sucking on his thumb and twirling pieces of his white-blonde hair, a gift from me, though he bore his father's aqua eyes, a gift from Alfons' own father. He waddled his pudgy self about the store, looking for Edward, his idol. He adored Edward so much, it was almost too cute. Muttering Edward's name, he called out for him amongst the sea of people's legs. Coming up from behind him, Liam never saw it coming. Edward reached down and swung him up into his arms, holding him high above his head as Liam laughed. "Ed!"

"Hey, there, boy-o!" Ed had adopted my usage of the word for Liam, a word my father used to call my older brother when we lived in Ireland. "How's it going?"

"Mama wants Ed to close shop. She wants Ed and me to go shopping with her."

"Close at 2 p.m.? Mama wants me to do all that? For her, right?"

"Wight!" His mouth moved about his thumb.

"Okay, I'll see what I can do." Setting him down again, he gave Liam a little push towards me with a big grin. He smiled a lot more now than he had before Alfons died. I was beginning to wonder if he was doing that for me, to keep me happy. And then when I thought about things like this I get all sad inside because I don't deserve Edward's love. I'm not his wife, not his lover, but he treats me lovingly and kindly. He does it for me, he does it for Liam, and he does it for Alfons. No matter how much of that I point out to him, he never seems to care that I'm stealing his life from him.

"Mama?" Liam tugged on my dress, pulling me away from my thoughts. He reached his hands up and I picked him up and brought his face to mine so I could look at his face. He placed two little hands on both of my cheeks. "Mama?"

Kissing him on the nose, I told him, "I love you, baby." I kissed him again and hugged him tight against me.

"Alright, folks! Closing time is early today! The little mother over there needs my assistance elsewhere so let's head on out!" Edward ushered people out of the store, officially closing it down for the day. "Where to?"

"I want to show you something."

Edward pulled the car up to our destination. Liam was asleep on my shoulder and I shifted slowly, getting out of the car. Edward hopped out and offered to carry Liam. Giving him to him, I took Edward's empty hand, and gently pulled him to my favorite place in the whole world. It was a little brook that ran through a circle of apple trees. It was spring and the trees were in full bloom. It was beautiful. I spun about and then seated myself in the lush grass.

"How did you find this place?" Edward asked, astounded by the scenery. He had given Liam back to me. Liam now rested in my lap, sleeping soundly.

"This was where I first met Alfons." I closed my eyes. I was nine years old. My parents allowed us to stop for a picnic less than a kilometer away. I had meandered off and found this brook. I climbed a tree, trying to get the best apple. I had slipped and fallen right next to the tree. I hadn't realized someone was sleeping underneath and had fallen straight into the young man's lap.

"I didn't think an angel would fall from the sky whilst I was dreaming." The young man smiled. He was a German. His blonde hair and blue eyes told me everything. "Tell me angel: what is your name?"

"It's Carina. What's yours?"

"Alfons."

Making small talk I asked, "Do you come here often?" Clichéd small talk.

"Actually, no. I lost my ride to the city and had to walk. I found this little paradise and decided it would be a great place for a nap and, boy, was I right. Will angels fall from the sky everywhere I go?"

"Do you always sleep in weird places?"

"Do you always fall out of trees?"

"Do you always ask so many questions?"

"Yes, I actually do! I'm a scholar. What are you, Carina?"

"A foreigner."

"That's not an occupation." He clicked his tongue at me.

"So what? It might as well be. I ain't anything else, boy-o."

"You aren't anything else…"

"I don't need your smarts!"

"What do you need?"

"To go back to Ireland! But we can't go back!" I looked down, ashamed, "But we do need a house…"

"I can't give you Ireland, but I can give you a home. The landlord's leasing it out right now and if I put in a word for you, it'll be cheap with all the benefits."

"You'd do that for some stranger?" I asked, cynically.

"No, I'd do it for an angel that I was fated to meet."

"Whatever, Romeo…" I pushed myself off him and stood, beginning to walk away.

"Actually, Romeo isn't a womanizer like everyone thinks! He just falls in love quickly and that's seen as his womanizing ways, but he is an earnest young man who has a problem falling for women!" He grinned.

"Well, whatever, I'd never be your Juliet…"

"I wouldn't want you to be. Juliet and Romeo commit suicide."

"I know that!"

"I was saying that that would be a terrible fate for someone as cherubic as you are."

"And what about you? Not a terrible fate for you?"

"Nope, I'm a lowly peasant. Admiring your beauty is the only happiness in my life I'll receive." He scoffed, flashing another handsome smile my way, shrugging.

"I think you reversed the situation. I'm the one with no money here, peasant."

"Aye, but you have the beauty of an angel!"

"So what if I do? It ain't going to get me anywhere!"

"Isn't…"

"Don't need it, scholar!"

"Well, you could marry me. I've got a dream that could support us. I'm going to be a rocket engineer! And I'll become world famous! And you could live a happy life with me!"

"Unfortunately, you are a Romeo! I hardly know you and you just proposed! What the heck?" I crossed my arms and marched back to him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Spill it. Did you propose seriously?"

"No, I'm only thirteen, silly!"

"Then, why even suggest it?"

"I want to help you."

"Help away." I walked away again and he followed. Calling over my shoulder, I asked, "You need a ride, Alfons?"

"It would be much appreciated, my lady!"

"Cut that out!"

"So, he was smooth back in the day?" Edward chuckled.

"Not so smooth as he was when he actually proposed." I smiled. "Edward, why –"

"Why do you call me 'Edward'? Why don't you call me 'Ed'?"

"Because I respect you. I say your full name in respect. And plus, I've never called you any differently." I bowed my head in embarrassment.

"I want you to call me Ed from now on. Because I'm going to be with you and Liam for a long time, Carina. We're family now. Call me Ed…please?"

"Okay, Ed," I tested it out. It felt funny rolling off my tongue without the rest of his first name. Pulling up a different, more sensitive topic, I asked, "Who is she? The one you dream about?"

He looked taken back. "What are you talking about?"

"You talk in your sleep. I hear you talking about your brother and Alfons, but then you talk to a girl. I didn't catch her name but you were calling out to her, saying 'stop, don't go, I love you.'" I brushed Liam's bangs out of his eyes. "Is it the Roma girl? Or someone else?"

"Why do you care?" He snapped back.

"Ed, I don't want you suffering. Just tell me. You are crying and whimpering in your sleep. You're having terrible nightmares! Tell me!"

"Which one? Did you overhear before I was talking to my brother or after I was talking with Alfons?"

"Before your brother."

"I had a nightmare about the day I tried to bring my mother back to life. I keep seeing her contort and become disfigure in my dreams. That's who I was dreaming about."

"And what about after you were talking with Alfons?"

"Winry. She's a childhood friend…"

"Do you love her?"

"This is sorta funny. Alfons was questioning me about this too."

"When? When did he ask?"

"I'm sorry I brought it up. It's not funny, it's ironic."

"The day he died?"

"Yes."

"Oh, god, Ed, why?"

"I said I'm sorry. What else do you want me to do? Hug you, Kiss you, have sex with you?"

"You're not my husband!"

"No, you're right! I'm not! You're husband's dead! He's dead and he made me keep this dumb promise so you could live happily!" He shouted, waking Liam who laid dazed on my lap.

"If it was so dumb, why didn't you leave a long time ago? It runs in the family! You'll never stay around for me and you'll never stay around for Winry!" He slapped me across my face, my cheek burning from both the slap and the anger.

"Don't compare me with my father! I'm not like him! I'd never leave someone I loved! He abandoned us and my mother died because of it! Then, Al lost his body and I lost my arm and leg in an effort to bring her back! That bastard was never there for anything! He never was in our lives and look how shitty it turned out! I'm not even on the right side of the gate!"

"Don't talk about how shitty your life is! My husband is dead! My father is dead! He committed suicide! My mother was hanged! My older brother killed himself and his wife and their kids! I've been a refugee for most of my life! And now, Germany's going to make it so I'm going to have to escape here too!" Liam was crying but we both ignored him, just shouting at each other.

"Maybe you were fated to live a shitty life and to die a shitty life!"

"You don't even believe in fate!"

"I was using a figure of speech!"

"I'm sorry I'm not educated enough to understand, oh wise one!"

"I'm sorry I'm a prodigy!"

"I'm sorry you are too!"

"What? That didn't even make sense!"

"Just shut the hell up!"

"Oh, don't start to cuss now that Alfons' not around to call you an angel!"

"You just make me so angry!"

"I'm glad we're not married!"

"Same here! I'd never marry you!"

"STOP IT!" Liam screamed and slapped the ground with his fists. A blue light emanated from the circle of trees and from the ground beneath us. It turned purple and Ed hoisted me up and I grasped for Liam.

"Oh, shit…" A gong boomed in the distance, but it seemed as if it resonated all around. Everything turned white and then we were before a large black door with inscriptions all over it.

"Welcome, Ignorant Fools." A white human shaped being stepped out of nowhere. Its smile was the only thing we saw, and I chilled me to the core. I held onto Liam tightly, grasping Ed's hand at my side. Pointing at Ed, it said in surprise, "Yo, Fullmetal! Long time, no see!"

"I never thought I'd be here like this again…" Ed mumbled.

"So what's your goal this time? Knowledge, a life, what, Edward Elric?"

"Actually, we came here by accident. The kid opened the gate…"

"Oh, really?" Peering closer, he smiled at Liam. "Are you the father?"

"Don't you know the answer, Truth?"

"Yeah, he's here already. Is that what you wanted, Liam Heiderich? You wanted your papa?"

"Shut up! You can't bring someone back to life! You aren't God!" I screamed.

"Carina Heiderich, my, what a beauty you are. But you have no idea what I can do… Edward does, don't you? We have such touching memories of each other."

"Yeah, real touching," Ed said sarcastically.

"Enough chit-chat. What do you want?"

"Here's the deal: I'll ask you a question and you ask me a question. Equivalent Exchange."

"Okay, deal, but I probably know already anything you will tell me…"

"My question is: can we cross the Gate and go back to Amestris?"

"Maybe, what are you going to pay?"

"That's your question?"

"Ooh, another question, I get another question now!" He beamed. "Where is your father? I cannot locate him."

"He's in Munich. But he's going under the guise of another man nowadays. He used Envy's stone to create another body transfer."

Truth nodded, smiling.

"How much will we have to pay to cross the Gate?"

"You sacrificed all the effort you put in last time. You sacrifice your experiences on this side of the Gate."

"No! I don't want to forget Alfons! Anything but that! I love him!" I yelled to Truth, collapsing to the ground, or whatever was the ground here. "I don't want to…"

"Alfons was all she ever had. Don't take that away from her." Ed put out an arm to block me. "Alfons meant a lot to all of us. Don't take that. Don't be that cruel. I've already been beaten down by Truth before this. Will you have any sympathy for us?"

He smiled widely, sinisterly. He knew, he had no sympathy for us and maybe, just maybe, another idea might bring us more suffering than taking my memories of Alfons away. "Alright, I should tell you that her passage was already paid. The blood on the apple trees knows the meaning of payment. And her husband paid the price. She knows what has been done and it will haunt her. It is enough for her, but not her son… Edward, you're sacrificing your knowledge you gained of the Other Side?"

"Yes…"

"And now for little Liam? He loves his mommy and his Ed so much. But what else does he love? You love your daddy too. Oh, I know! Your father's pretty little blue eyes. I'll take yours. You'll no long see with the eyes your mother loves. Oh, I'll love your little blue eyes! It's decided!" He turned away and disappear as the Gate opened, and I saw thousands of little purple eyes. Then, their hands came for us and we were taken.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sorry I forgot to do this for the first chapter! Oops. I don't own any thing from FMA. The only things I own are Carina and Liam. That's it. I will use passages from either the anime or the manga so I don't own those as well.

Authors Note: The actual chapters are going to be a lot shorter than the prologue just because I am really lazy.

Chapter 1:

"Um, Ed, could you get off?" I squinted at him as the sun bore down upon us. He was crushing me with his full body weight. He twitched slightly at the sound of my voice. His blonde braid fell down upon my face, tickling my nose. I tried to get air into my lungs as I sneezed on his face. "I'm sorry…" I said in a disgusted apology.

"Carina, don't worry about it…" he rolled off of me, smearing off my sneeze on his face with a sleeve. He slowly opened his eyes, narrowing his eyes, and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Are we in Amestris?" He blinked rapidly, taking in the sunlight.

"Like I'd know…" I kept looking at him, marveling at his alertness. A fear kept nagging me in the back of my mind. It was Liam. Was my son really blind? Were his eyes taken, or was he just rendered blind? Did he have empty sockets? Would he be bleeding? Could I ever love my son again? #!*% it! I do love him! But… I couldn't get over my fear at looking at him.

"I recognize this place!" he told me suddenly after much thought. "It can't be!" He turned to me and grinned one of the happiest grins he'd ever given to me. "I'm home! I'm in Risembool! Carina, we really are here! We're finally home! Liam!" he quickly dropped his tone and crawled over to my son. "Liam," he screamed frantically. He's not your son, Ed. Do not care for him. I'm the only one he needs. I'm the only one he wants. I'm the only one fearing him…

Breaking out of my mind battle, my eyes started to overflow with tears. I loved my son, #!*% it! I'm his mother! I turned to him and saw his white-glistened irises. He was blind. Alfons' eyes weren't there. The milky white of his eyes scared me to the core and my throat closed in a choke for air. I reached out a hand to his face. I closed his eyes. I did not want to see them. No, I did not want them to see me. I did not want them to stare unfocusedly out at me. I did not want them to see me, because I was scared he'd see my fears: my fears that he might find out that I had contemplated not loving him, because he was not the same as he was. "Liam," I choked out.

"Mommy." My son was two years old and blind. He had seen the world, yes. He had seen everything Munich had to offer, yes. He had seen his father's grave and he had seen sorrow because of it, yes. He had seen his idol, his mentor, his _father_, yes. He had seen me, and he had loved all he had seen. But now… Would he remember what I looked like? Or what Ed looked like? Or what the place with the circle of apple trees had looked like? Would he remember what Alfons had looked like? Would he remember his features from the picture frames of his father we kept? And worse of all, and what hurt me the most, was the nagging question: Would he remember what he, himself, looked like?

"Mommy," he reached out to touch me. "Mommy, I can't see." He whispered and touched my face. He knew something was wrong as he felt my salty diamonds slide beneath and over his fingertips. He cried, his sightless eyes producing tears just like mine. He could cry? He could cry as he always had? He was sightless, he wasn't inhuman, or someone else. He was my son, and it was foolish of me to think differently. "Mommy, why can't I see?"

"Shhh," I cooed and snuggled him into my arms. Ed wrapped his arms about us, his signature move of comfort. His embrace was welcomed. And with great sadness, Liam and I place our depression upon a _husband_ and a _father_.

* * *

><p>It had been vexing me, what Truth said. How had it known what terrible sin Alfons and I had committed in the circle of the apple trees? How had it known how even just the thought of it paralyzed me with fear? I thought our sins had been accounted for as we made life and rejoiced in it. But we were wrong… One life does not equal another. Gasping a breath, I cried again. "Ed…It knew…" Liam and Ed curled around me and held me as I cried. Liam joined in, but Ed never cried. He never cried in front of me…<p>

* * *

><p>Risembool was a quaint town. Rural to say the least. We had been dumped, transported, deported, or something by what Ed called the Gate of Truth in an empty crop field that had long since been abandoned because of the over-usage of the soil. The ground was infertile and was sprouting small doses of weeds here and there. The November weather sent chills down our spines with a cool wind that slapped our faces harshly. A broken wood fence surrounded the little field, which was easily hopped by the three of us, and it separated the field from the main road through Risembool. The train station, Ed had said, was just a little south down the main road from where we had arrived. But we didn't want to go there. No, he wanted to be with his brother and others. And I allowed him that, for I was only his companion, and I had no idea where I was or did I know anyone besides Edward Elric. I was content to follow him to his home.<p>

Liam was fine for the most part. Ed had decided that it would be best if he rode on his shoulders or on my hip for the walk to the Rockbell place. He did not want to have to deal with a tripping, stumbling, whining Liam. So, the walk was quick and efficient with Liam not walking. He didn't cry anymore, but if one of us held him, he wanted to be touching our faces or our hair. He wouldn't say a word, but would just twirl a piece of my hair or place his small little palms on Ed's forehead, just above his eyes.

The walk was tiring and I threatened to complain, but then, I composed myself, thinking of my son. Anyways it was best not to dampen Ed's spirits. He was so elated. He was finally home. He could barely hide his excited grin at the thought of seeing his brother again. And I was actually anxious to see his brother too. Ed had once told me that he had stayed with Alfons and me because Alfons had look just like his brother, Al, only a couple of years older. I was slightly in disbelief and afraid at the thought of seeing someone who looked just like my Alfons. But nothing could be done about it. We were going to see Ed's family. And I was happy doing anything to help Ed. Ed had helped me for the past three or so years. So now it was my turn.

Or so I thought. But I was not a nurse. So when a wrench came flying, bonking Ed in the head, knocking him flat, and making him bleed, I screamed, alarming a frightened Liam who thankfully was in my arms and not on Ed's shoulders. "EDWARD ELRIC!" A blonde with long hair stood up in the second floor balcony. She wore gray cargo pants and a black tube top and a green bandana. I was astonished at seeing her wearing so little clothing in the start of the winter weather. And then I saw her tears and I thought, _you must be Winry_. "ED! YOU STUPID MIDGET!"

That got him up. "SAY THAT AGAIN, MACHINE GEEK!" He raised a fist and smiled. He dropped his fist and spread his arms. "Winry, I'm home."

"Welcome home, you big dummy!" She turned away and ran into the room behind her. I heard her yell, "Grandma! Ed's finally home!" And then a dog barked somewhere in the downstairs. I heard a chair screech backwards and then the door opened. A small elderly lady with a pipe and hair that denied the laws of physics walked out onto the porch with a dog that looked like a lab with a mechanical leg. Winry had run down the steps and was behind her grandmother. "See, he's back…"

"Edward Elric, it's been a long time…" the little woman said with a smirk. "Have you gotten," she contemplated a second, "_shorter_?"

"HAVE YOU'RE EYES GOTTEN WORSE, OLD TINY HAG?" Ed dished out another warm smile along with his rant. "It's good to see you too, Pinako."

"Yeah, welcome home. Oh, and who is your Ishvalan friend?" Pinako puffed a circle of smoke, staring at me and Liam. I thought we had blended into the scenery but not enough to be overlooked by Pinako. Winry looked over at us. And she saw Liam, but she mainly saw the resemblance of Liam and Edward. Sadness clouded her face and I almost said something about it, but Ed beat me to it.

"This is Carina and Liam. I met them while I was on the other side of the Gate. They're family now, okay?" Ed took Liam from me and pulled me closer to Winry and Pinako.

"She's your…wife?" Winry looked down.

"No!" we said at the same time. Ed took up from there. "She's a friend of mine's wife. He died and I took care of her. This is his son, Liam."

"But he looks like you." Pinako had retreated back into the doorway a bit, Den, the dog, at her heels. Winry was looking perplexed as she slowly walked towards us. "He looks so much like you."

"On my side of the Gate, there are people that look just like people on this side, Ed says. He met a Gracia and a Hughes and a Rose, he told me everything. And he met an Alphonse. He met Liam's father, Alfons, my husband." I said. Ed couldn't find the words. He had lost every memory, besides the memories of Liam, Alfons, and I, from my side of the Gate to Truth when we had crossed over. Ed let me go and I shied away from him a bit. They were having a moment. And my son was in the way. But even as they stared at each other, he quickly absorbed all the attention of Winry. She had reached out her hands and gently took my son. I felt slightly jealous. She was holding _my_ son, and she looked so perfect with Ed by her side. They looked just like a happy family. Except for the fact of Liam's blindness.

"He's blind…" Winry pressed her face to Liam's and told him quietly, "Liam, feel. Feeling is the ultimate sense. It conquers all others, but also is the greatest threat to one. Loss of sight is not that bad. You'll learn how to live without it. Yes, it is a terrible thing, but it won't be the end of your world. You can see in here," she softly bonked his forehead with her own. "You know what things look like and you can recreate them in there. But loss of feeling… that's something one can never get over… so cherish it always, little Liam." I was glad, and relieved. I was still jealous, though. She had been able to say the words I needed to say. She had reassured my son. And I felt at that moment that I could trust her. Ed looked at her with a depressing, yet guilty look. He turned away, and I could see his heart crumble inside his chest.

And so I said, "Thank you for what you just said to my son. I couldn't find the words to say it, but you said them at first glance. You are too kind and I wish we can become friends…" I blushed in embarrassment.

"Sure thing!" She lifted Liam high in the sky. "Your son is so beautiful."

"Thank you." She gave him back to me and I let him hold a lock of my hair.

"Is it alright if we could stay with you, Winry?" Ed looked away. "I don't have a house, Carina. I burnt it down…"

"You never have a house," I said in realization. He didn't have a home in this world and he didn't have one in mine. He had people take him in…freeloader… I smiled.

"Guilty as charged, little bird," he grinned. "So how about it, Winry?"

"Let's see: you still haven't paid me for the past two repairs of your arm and now you want to stay at my house for free with two other people?" She closed her eyes and thought. "Sure you can stay, but it won't be free. First you'll have to do some repairs on this little house. And then, you can build two houses by yourself: one house for you and one house for Carina and Liam."

"Sounds like a deal, mechanic." Ed looked around. "I know it's foolish to ask, but did Alphonse come back alive?" His brother. What if he didn't bring Alphonse back when he sacrificed himself? What if he was left alone in this world thinking that his brother was alive?

"He's not here, Ed," Winry tried to catch his glance. Ed's shoulders sank and he put a hand across his eyes. Realizing she hadn't clarified enough, Winry added, "Mustang wanted to see him in Central for a while. He had to take care so some State Alchemist problems. He's followed your footprints exactly. He's a full-fledged State Alchemist. He called yesterday and said he was coming home in two days. So don't worry he'll be here."

"Thank goodness," he heaved a sigh of relief and knocked Liam on the head playfully. "Come on, boy-o, you must be hungry for Grandma Pinako's amazing stew. I know I am. Oh, and I'd love to have some of that apple pie you promised, Winry." Liam smiled and reached out for him, wanting his warm skin beneath his fingertips. I allowed him to have what he wanted and he was soon pressing his face in giddy happiness to Ed's. "Boy-o, I'll always be your '_dad_', so don't worry that I'll leave you. I'll always be here as long as you want me." I watched Winry's eyes trace Ed's body, in both love and sadness. She loved him so much, but he had just pledged to love my son as his own. I was not Ed's wife, and Winry should have been his wife and she should have had his son, but now Ed had stuck us in an unusual and maybe unbearable family situation. At times he really was an idiot.


End file.
